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NAME

xauth - X authority file utility

SYNOPSIS

xauth
[ -fauthfile ] [ -vqibn ] [ command arg ... ]

DESCRIPTION

The xauth program is used to edit and display the authorization
information used in connecting to the X server. This program is usually
used to extract authorization records from one machine and merge them in on
another (as is the case when using remote logins or granting access to
other users). Commands (described below) may be entered interactively,
on the xauth command line, or in scripts. Note that this program
does not contact the X server except when the generate command is used.
Normally xauth is not used to create the authority file entry in
the first place; xdm does that.

OPTIONS

The following options may be used with xauth. They may be given
individually (e.g., -q -i) or may combined (e.g., -qi).

-f authfile

This option specifies the name of the authority file to use. By default,
xauth will use the file specified by the XAUTHORITY environment variable
or .Xauthority in the user's home directory.

-q

This option indicates that xauth should operate quietly and not print
unsolicited status messages. This is the default if an xauth command
is given on the command line or if the standard output is not directed to a
terminal.

-v

This option indicates that xauth should operate verbosely and print
status messages indicating the results of various operations (e.g., how many
records have been read in or written out). This is the default if xauth
is reading commands from its standard input and its standard output is
directed to a terminal.

-i

This option indicates that xauth should ignore any authority file
locks. Normally, xauth will refuse to read or edit any authority files
that have been locked by other programs (usually xdm or another
xauth).

-b

This option indicates that xauth should attempt to break any authority
file locks before proceeding. Use this option only to clean up stale locks.

-n

This option indicates that xauth should not attempt to resolve any
hostnames, but should simply always print the host address as stored in
the authority file.

COMMANDS

The following commands may be used to manipulate authority files:

add displayname protocolname hexkey

An authorization entry for the indicated display using the given protocol
and key data is added to the authorization file. The data is specified as
an even-lengthed string of hexadecimal digits, each pair representing
one octet. The first digit of each pair gives the most significant 4 bits
of the octet, and the second digit of the pair gives the least significant 4
bits. For example, a 32 character hexkey would represent a 128-bit value.
A protocol name consisting of just a
single period is treated as an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.

generate displayname protocolname [trusted|untrusted]

[timeout seconds] [group group-id] [data hexdata]

This command is similar to add. The main difference is that instead
of requiring the user to supply the key data, it connects to the
server specified in displayname and uses the SECURITY extension
in order to get the key data to store in the authorization file. If
the server cannot be contacted or if it does not support the SECURITY
extension, the command fails. Otherwise, an authorization entry for
the indicated display using the given protocol is added to the
authorization file. A protocol name consisting of just a single
period is treated as an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.

If the trusted option is used, clients that connect using this
authorization will have full run of the display, as usual. If
untrusted is used, clients that connect using this authorization
will be considered untrusted and prevented from stealing or tampering
with data belonging to trusted clients. See the SECURITY extension
specification for full details on the restrictions imposed on
untrusted clients. The default is untrusted.

The timeout option specifies how long in seconds this
authorization will be valid. If the authorization remains unused (no
clients are connected with it) for longer than this time period, the
server purges the authorization, and future attempts to connect using
it will fail. Note that the purging done by the server does not
delete the authorization entry from the authorization file. The
default timeout is 60 seconds.

The group option specifies the application group that clients
connecting with this authorization should belong to. See the
application group extension specification for more details. The
default is to not belong to an application group.

The data option specifies data that the server should use to
generate the authorization. Note that this is not the same data
that gets written to the authorization file. The interpretation of
this data depends on the authorization protocol. The hexdata is
in the same format as the hexkey described in the add command.
The default is to send no data.

[n]extract filename displayname...

Authorization entries for each of the specified displays are written to the
indicated file. If the nextract command is used, the entries are written
in a numeric format suitable for non-binary transmission (such as secure
electronic mail). The extracted entries can be read back in using the
merge and nmerge commands. If the filename consists of
just a single dash, the entries will be written to the standard output.

[n]list [displayname...]

Authorization entries for each of the specified displays (or all if no
displays are named) are printed on the standard output. If the nlist
command is used, entries will be shown in the numeric format used by
the nextract command; otherwise, they are shown in a textual format.
Key data is always displayed in the hexadecimal format given in the
description of the add command.

[n]merge [filename...]

Authorization entries are read from the specified files and are merged into
the authorization database, superceding any matching existing entries. If
the nmerge command is used, the numeric format given in the description
of the extract command is used. If a filename consists of just a single
dash, the standard input will be read if it hasn't been read before.

remove displayname...

Authorization entries matching the specified displays are removed from the
authority file.

source filename

The specified file is treated as a script containing xauth commands
to execute. Blank lines and lines beginning with a sharp sign (#) are
ignored. A single dash may be used to indicate the standard input, if it
hasn't already been read.

info

Information describing the authorization file, whether or not any changes
have been made, and from where xauth commands are being read
is printed on the standard output.

exit

If any modifications have been made, the authority file is written out (if
allowed), and the program exits. An end of file is treated as an implicit
exit command.

quit

The program exits, ignoring any modifications. This may also be accomplished
by pressing the interrupt character.

help [string]

A description of all commands that begin with the given string (or all
commands if no string is given) is printed on the standard output.

?

A short list of the valid commands is printed on the standard output.

DISPLAY NAMES

Display names for the add, [n]extract, [n]list,
[n]merge, and remove commands use the same format as the
DISPLAY environment variable and the common -display command line
argument. Display-specific information (such as the screen number)
is unnecessary and will be ignored.
Same-machine connections (such as local-host sockets,
shared memory, and the Internet Protocol hostname localhost) are
referred to as hostname/unix:displaynumber so that
local entries for different machines may be stored in one authority file.

EXAMPLE

The most common use for xauth is to extract the entry for the
current display, copy it to another machine, and merge it into the
user's authority file on the remote machine:

% xauth extract - $DISPLAY | rsh otherhost xauth merge -

The following command contacts the server :0 to create an
authorization using the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 protocol. Clients that
connect with this authorization will be untrusted.

% xauth generate :0 .

ENVIRONMENT

This xauth program uses the following environment variables:

XAUTHORITY

to get the name of the authority file to use if the -f option isn't
used.

HOME

to get the user's home directory if XAUTHORITY isn't defined.

FILES

$HOME/.Xauthority

default authority file if XAUTHORITY isn't defined.

BUGS

Users that have unsecure networks should take care to use encrypted
file transfer mechanisms to copy authorization entries between machines.
Similarly, the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 protocol is not very useful in
unsecure environments. Sites that are interested in additional security
may need to use encrypted authorization mechanisms such as Kerberos.

Spaces are currently not allowed in the protocol name. Quoting could be
added for the truly perverse.